The Trial
by Bulldust
Summary: Their cause was simple: become the strongest pack and take over territories. But their aspirations were not stain free. Only the strongest were permitted to survive, and fighting began the day you were born.


A single, lone howl was all she would be getting. A head snapped to attention inside the dimly lit den, and then began to shuffle out of the narrow entrance. A small she wolf pulled herself out of the burrow and into the light of midday. Her soft gray coat was riddled with scars. A blinding scar turned one of her sage green eyes a ghostly white. Without a word she took off at a lope towards the source of the howl.

She travelled across the sparse landscape, completely deserted in the early spring. What little life it decided to support was thin and weak. She never questioned why she was to be stationed in the highlands. To be fair, she never had any experience in this task. She was relying on her superior's intuition and experience.

After about an hours travel, she saw him. A lone dark wolf was lying near the body of a mountain goat. As she drew nearer, she found that half of its legs were missing. The severed off remains were strewn around the brown male, who had a stony look on his face, "I see you've taken your time again."

The she wolf lowered her head in submission, walking towards the carcass. She didn't need to ask for permission to eat, it was meant for her to begin with. The male left the nutritious, softer meats for her, and she felt obliged to thank him. "Thank you Alter," She dipped her head towards the male, who gave a humbling growl.

She tore into the goat quickly, not wanting to waste anymore of her superior's time. They remained in relative silence as the she wolf pulled at the carcass. Alter watched her with a thoughtful look on his face as she ate. "Its time you've shown me the den Lo."

Lo paused and looked up at the larger male. It was still too early, why would he want to see the den so soon? Alter bore into her with a pale yellow stare, and she couldn't change his mind. Today was the day.

As soon as Alter believed she was done, she was ushered from the carcass, and with a firm push she was leading him towards the den at a steady trot. She had a lot of mixed emotions she hid under her neutral mask. What would Alter think when they got there, what if she failed him and they weren't what he wanted.

It had all started with a proposal. That winter Alter was beginning to come grips with the fact that he was getting older, and he had no descendants of his own to carry on his will. The only one the aging male had left was Lo, who had turned two years of age. She sensed a kind of forlornness from the male that she had never seen in him before. All her life he was the strong, intelligent leader and father figure that she needed. Without him, she wouldn't be alive today.

So of course it was Lo to suggest that she could carry his brood. At the time it felt like the best option for Alter, and a way for Lo to repay her debt to him. It was her assignment to make sure he had a healthy litter and to make sure they ate properly. They were only a week old, but she thought she was doing a good job. They were quiet, attentive, and had no deformities; the perfect way a pup should be in her eyes.

After a day's travel, the sun began to set along the mountains as the pair made it to the den. It was nothing more than a burrow dug out from underneath a large slab of rock. As there were no natural dens or anything made by animals, Lo had to build one herself. She trotted up to the entrance and crawled in, kicking out cold stones as she shuffled inside. Towards the back of the gravelly den came soft whines, and a few furry heads rose up. She curled up around the cold pups as they whimpered and nestled into her abdomen. They had no vegetation or warm earth to conserve their body temperature with while she was away, and they had grown colder. They were fine enough, they would have to get used to the cold if they were ever to be as strong as their father.

Said wolf was watching from the entrance, standing in the coming gloom with his head lowered to look inside. It was too dark to judge his expression. After a moment, the male dug at the entrance, clawing away loose rocks and debris before pushing his shoulders through. Lo furrowed her brow as her superior clambered inside; surely he wouldn't find it comfortable to sleep in the den? It was much too small for him.

Alter stopped shuffling when he was within reaching range of the pups, with his back end still outside. He glowered down at the litter with a look of judgement. There were five pups in total, all with mixes of browns and grays. Lo didn't bother naming them, as they weren't truly hers. She was simply a surrogate mate to give Alter hiers. The sire nosed at the pups, one by one, before he snatched two up in his jaws and backed out.

Lo was snapped into focus when she heard their screams as Alter pulled them out of the den. Curious, she followed him out, not comforting the rest of her panicking litter. She crawled out to find Alter on top of the den. The dim light of dusk casted a shadow over his form, and she watched the silhouette of her superior drop the two pups onto the cold boulder.

Any response Lo had was cut off with a growl as Alter leapt down from the rockface. He gave her a firm shove into the burrow, "Get in and leave them."

Lo scooted back towards the back of the den, onto her remaining pups. Their cries only heightened her anxiety that something was _wrong_. "Sir, why are the pups out there?" She asked in a quiet, submissive voice.

Alter gave her a hard stare from the entrance, "They were weak. They were the smallest of the brood, and weren't strong enough to feed with the rest of the pups. They have to prove themselves before I allow them into the my litter again."

Lo gave a confused grunt as she looked down at the last of her litter. They cried and squeaked in hysteria as they crawled over each other, panicked by the sudden activity and their missing siblings. Immediately the she wolf hunkered down and silenced them, giving them firm licks out of fear that Alter would take more of them. She scanned her litter to see which ones were missing; the two brown pups were accounted for, but only one gray pup remained. The remaining pups settled down to soft whimpers as she nursed them, and she found that a male and a female were missing.

She was about to speak to Alter again when she heard them. They were almost inaudible over the murmur of her stronger pups, but she heard the cries of her gray pups from above. They pair squeaked and clawed at the bare rock, confused and in pain from the sudden cold they were thrusted in. Lo felt a pang of distress tear at her heart as she heard their scratching and cries. She was about to jump out to save them when Alter's massive body laid down in front of the entrance, completely blocking her in, and her weaker pups out. She gave a soft whine of frustration that was quickly cut off with a growl from the older male.

After a few moments, she lowered her head in defeat. There was no way she could get out to rescue her pups, and they were going to die from exposure. She pressed her remaining pups close with a shaky tail and rested her head on her sleeping brood. Meanwhile, the pups outside still cried and scratched at the roof of the den, filling Lo's chest with anguish and fear and utter hopelessness.

Ignoring them wasn't the hardest part. The worst part was when the cries and scratches stopped soon after she gave up on them. It was complete silence for the rest of the night.

Lo blinked into the morning light from the entrance, and quickly snapped awake. Immediately she dragged herself to the entrance to find Alter nowhere in sight. After a quick scan, the she wolf pulled herself out and leapt onto the roof of the den to find her missing brood. She stood over her two motionless pups. Although they were exposed to the aerial predators of the mountains, no bird of prey got to them. Their gray bodies kept them camouflaged on the rock. She nosed at their long since stilled bodies, and felt a stab of pain throb at her heart to find they were both cold.

She sat down and stared at them, her soft green and blind eyes conveying so much pain on her blank face. No outward emotion could describe the grief and loss she was feeling. And their deaths were her fault alone. She didn't raise them strong enough to pass Alter's trial, and they passed away.

She turned to go back inside the den when a soft scratch played at her ear. She turned to the cold bodies to find them stationary. Another throb of pain etched into her chest. She didn't want to hope. A gray foot twitched and she nearly jumped out of her fur. She was at the pup's side in a heartbeat, scooping it up and climbing inside the den.

The brood inside gave confused whimpers at the sudden activity, and squeaked when a cold body was dropped onto them. Lo forced her pups close to the body to heat it up, all the while lapping at it with a warm tongue. The weak pup gave the softest of whimpers and began to cry and move as it was revived. Relief washed over Lo as the pup began to squirm on its own again. Of the male and female that were tried, the female was the one to last through the night. She pulled the gray she pup close to her chest as the rest of the litter began to nurse, showering it with affection and much needed comfort.

"I see the female survived the night."

Lo almost jumped at the voice that sounded from the entrance. Warily, she lifted her head up to see Alter at the mouth of the burrow, with a molting hare at his feet. He crawled inside of the den, fitting his back along the ceiling. The she wolf pulled her pups closer to her and away from Alter's reach as he towered over her. She tucked the weak pup close to her chest and lowered her head, keeping her out of sight.

"You are a fantastic mother Lo. Not only have you birthed many offspring for me, but one managed to outlive all the others." He nuzzled into the younger wolf's scruff and placed a possessive leg over her. He began grooming Lo's neck when his voice rumbled once again. "The elements were merciful on her, and I've come up with a perfect name for my young prodigy."

With his scarred muzzle, Alter gently pushed Lo's head away so he can look at the gray she pup. The little pup gave a growling whine and nuzzled into her mother's chest. "She shall be known as Eir."

Author's Note: This was an AU my friend Evern and I made with our OCs. In canon Lo gets separated by her family as a pup. In this AU Evern's Alter finds her. He trains her into becoming his personal bodyguard and carries his brood.

If you want to have a better expierence reading and get to know more about the lore of my characters, visit my amino profile here: /c/wolfquest/page/user/bulldust-is-busy/JJBm_EXI0fV7pM6J5dJ8mmDxL8BerXB6dWHm


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